Wenger wants two Spaniards with cash from Fabregas sale

Arsenal are ready to break their transfer record with £20million moves for Valencia’s Juan Mata and Villarreal’s Santi Cazorla if the sale of captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona finally goes through this week.

Barca vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu is in London this weekend and wants to meet Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis to submit a new £35m offer to Arsenal and drive through the deal.

Fabregas missed the friendly win against FC Cologne in Germany and Arsenal have cited an ongoing hamstring injury, with insiders denying any suggestion that Fabregas is effectively on strike.

In demand: Juan Mata impressed for Spain at the UEFA European Under-21 Championships

It seems all it will take for Fabregas to go is for Barcelona to match Arsenal’s £40m valuation, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: ‘I don’t want to talk about transfers openly because it’s a negotiation, but if we sell a player or buy a player we’ll tell the Press. The details of what’s happening during transfer talks, I don’t like to talk about.’

With the forecast income from Fabregas plus a kitty of about £25m, Arsenal are ready to spend serious money this summer, smashing their club record of £17.5m for Andrey Arshavin in 2009, possibly by buying Mata, 23, a left-sided wide player, forwhom Valencia will demand £25m.

Mata is Arsenal’s most expensive target along with Spain team-mate Cazorla, 26, who can play on either wing or centrally. Cazorla though is also being chased by Malaga.

On the verge: Cesc Fabregas could complete his protracted move to Barcelona this week

The future of Samir Nasri is also yet to be resolved, althoughSportsmail understands that theboard have given Wenger permission to keep the winger, even though letting him run down his contract means that he will join Manchester City next summer for free, rather than for the £20m Arsenal might expect for him now.

But if Nasri were to depart with Fabregas, Arsenal would renew their interest in 17-year-old winger Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain of Southampton, whose chairman Nicola Cortese is reluctant to sell him for at least another year and would expect £10m.

High flying: Gervinho (right) doubles Arsenal's lead with his second goal against Cologne in Germany

Arsenal’s win over Cologne was effectively wrapped up inside 15 minutes as Gervinho scored twice on his debut, in which Wenger used 25 players.

‘He did well,’ Wenger said. ‘It’s good for his confidence to start with a win and to score two goals. He’s shown what he’s strong at — his movement off the ball.’

The match was preceded by a minute’s silence for the victims of Friday’s massacre in Norway —Cologne’s boss is Norwegian Stale Solbakken, 43, who had a season with Wimbledon in 1997-98.